Mom Reclaims Baby From Adoptive Parents- Passes Away A Short Time Later

By: Alexander Burns | November 4, 2018

A couple who couldn't have a baby of their own wanted to adopt, and they were overjoyed to welcome a baby boy into their home. Unfortunately, the boy's biological mother changed her mind and wanted him back. Now, that little boy is dead.

Rachel and Heidi McFarland, a lesbian couple from Des Moines, Iowa, have been presented with $3.25 million after a jury ruled that the death of their adopted son was facilitated by the legal negligence of their attorney, Jason Rieper.

Rachel and Heidi became parents in 2013 when a pregnant 16-year-old teenager, Markeya Atkins, volunteered her baby up for adoption. Rachel and Heidi stayed at the hospital while Ms. Atkins carried the child.

The lesbian couple later severed the umbilical cord and named their son Gabriel. However, after several months of harmony, Rachel and Heidi came into conflict with Ms. Atkins.

Unfortunately, the teenager had changed her mind about giving up her child and she wanted to take Gabriel back. Without telling the lesbian couple her plans, Ms. Atkins swooped in and took her child back to her home.

Rachel and Heidi began working with their attorney and the authorities to legally regain custody of the baby boy.

However, in a horrifying turn of events, Rachel and Heidi’s dreams of parenthood were shattered when they watched a news report about Gabriel. The innocent young boy had been brutally killed by Ms. Atkins’ former partner and the boy’s father, Drew Weehler-Smith.

The 17-year-old murderer has now been sentenced to 50 years’ imprisonment.

“It's like he's been taken away from you again. We brought him home from the hospital. I cut his umbilical cord,” recalled a heartbroken Rachel. The couple were distraught upon hearing the news. Rachel and Heidi had financially supported Ms. Atkins as she carried to term.

When the loving couple learnt that Gabriel was deaf in one ear, they decided to learn sign language to ensure communication if the boy ever went completely deaf. In an interview with WHOTV, Rachel spoke about the tragic loss, saying: “It just felt natural. When he was with us it just felt right. Like we were always meant to be moms.”

Prior to adopting Gabriel, both Rachel and Heidi repeatedly asked Ms. Atkins what her feelings were about the adoption. However, although Ms. Atkins swore that she wanted the couple to adopt her baby, Rachel and Heidi’s lawyer, Mr. Rieper, failed to file the correct adoption paperwork.

Mr. Rieper’s negligence ensured that the lesbian couple were unable to regain custody of Gabriel in time to remove him from the murderous grasp of Weehler-Smith.

According to Yahoo, Rachel and Heidi are happy to have some degree of closure after the jury ruled in their favor. Nevertheless, it appears that Mr. Rieper plans to fight the decision in Court, prolonging the painful process for Rachel and Heidi.

The couple’s new representation, Roxanne Conlin, has slammed the defendant, writing on Facebook: “If the lawyer had done what he was supposed to do, the birth mother would have signed a document called a release of custody and 4 days after she signed it, it would have been almost impossible for her or the baby's father to take Gabriel away from them. The lawyer just didn't get around to it.”